by Ruby Dixon
“You got some hand sanitizer?” Emma asks. “I’m starving, but I don’t want to eat unless I wash my hands.”
“Of course. And some soap and water, too. Come on. We’ll go in the store and clean up while we wait for Dakh.” I nod in the direction of the doors, and we head inside.
We walk through the shadowy aisles quietly. I’m brimming with questions, but I don’t want to make the already skittish Emma even more nervous. I know this is all a big leap of faith, so I’m content to let her start the questioning. I’m sure there will be plenty of them.
In the sink in the break room, she eyes my pool-slash-tub with longing. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had a bath?”
“Probably almost as long as me before I got here,” I say with a chuckle. “I lived in Fort Dallas before Dakh and I…got together.” That seems the best way to describe our meeting. “They charged for baths because it was hard to spare the water. There’s nothing so nice as being clean.” I gesture at the tub. “You can take a bath if you want.”
The look on her dirty face is wistful. “I shouldn’t. I just reapplied my stink.”
“I understand.”
She washes her hands in the sink and glances over at me as she lathers them up. “I thought this was a trap, you know.”
“Yeah, I thought you might. I know if I were in your shoes, I’d have thought the same thing. But I promise you, Dakh and I mean you no harm. We were just flying out of the city when we came upon the store here.”
Emma nods. “This is all kind of weird for me, you know. A barbecue with a dragon and the girl who booted me out of my home? Very strange.”
I laugh, because she has a point. “It’s all weird for me, too, believe me. Some mornings I wake up and wonder how I got to this.”
“Well, since you bring it up, that’s a great question. How did you end up shacking up with a dragon? And how did you know that he’s human?” She shakes the water off her hands and dries them with a paper towel, then folds the paper towel neatly and sets it in her pocket for re-use later. “I’ve never seen a dragon turn human before. Then again, I’ve never seen a dragon this close before, either.”
“I didn’t know he was human, either. It was a shock to me, too, when I was told about it.”
“Then how did you meet?”
“‘Meet’ might be the wrong word for it. Dakh was attacking Fort Dallas, and my friend Claudia was trying to escape with her dragon. She pulled me up behind her on his back, but I couldn’t hold on because of my bad arm.” I gesture at my sling helplessly. “I fell off the back of the rescue dragon, and Dakh snatched me from the air. Next thing I knew, he’d taken me away.” And made it abundantly clear he wanted companionship, but I avoid saying that part to Emma.
Why? It is an honor to be your mate. Dakh’s thoughts sound a little distant, like they’re coming from down a long hallway instead of right in my ear. There is nothing to be ashamed of.
I’m not ashamed, I tell him. I just don’t think most people would understand. Sometimes I’m not sure even I understand, and I know you.
Bah. If you have any doubts, I can show you when I return.
No doubts! That wasn’t what I meant. And no showing is necessary. I can feel my face growing hot even as Emma watches me. “So um, where were we?”
“You okay? You seem distracted.”
I debate telling her that Dakh is telepathic, but it seems like something I should keep to myself for now. I don’t want her to feel like we’re plotting against her silently. “Just thinking. It’s been a bit of a wild journey.”
“I’ll bet. So tell me more about Dakh. How did you find out he was human instead of dragon?”
“That’s the thing,” I tell her as I wash my own hands. “I’m not sure that he’s a human that has a dragon form as much as he’s a dragon that happens to have a human form. The way he thinks and his beliefs…they’re just very different from ours.” I wipe my hands off and give her a rueful smile. “And I found out he had a human form when he changed in front of me. I probably wasn’t as shocked as you because my friend Claudia had told me about her relationship with a dragon, but it’s still startling to see for the first time.”
“Your friend hooked up with a dragon, too, you said? Claudia? How did she meet him?”
I bite my lip, wondering how much I should say. “Claudia was exiled from Fort Dallas and left in the Scavenge Lands for him to find.”
Emma’s face goes dark. “Forts are shitty places,” she tells me. “The worst of what’s left of humanity. I was booted from Fort Tulsa. I hope it burns to the ground.”
“You were? What happened?”
The look on her face grows vague. “What always happens when you’re a woman in the After. Someone suggests something and you can either take them up on it or you can take action. I’d rather not talk about it.”
My heart squeezes with sympathy. I’ve been where she’s at. We all have. It’s hard when you’re a woman alone. “I understand. At first when I got together with Dakh, I was terrified of him. Then I realized that the only thing he wants is my happiness. Now I feel safer with him than I ever did in Fort Dallas, surrounded by tons of people with guns. Funny how that works, isn’t it?”
“I’m not surprised. You’ve got the biggest badass on your side. It’s hard to think about just forgiving everything they’ve done, though. In my head, dragons are still the enemy. They still slaughtered millions of people.”
“I’m not forgiving it,” I tell her as we head back to the front of the store. “I just understand it a bit more after knowing Dakh.” Her words are making me uncomfortable, though. In the eyes of humanity, I’m shacking up with the enemy—the monster that destroyed our world. I’m now the enemy, too.
“How can you understand it? What’s there to understand?” There’s remembered pain in Emma’s voice. “We lost everything.”
“So did Dakh,” I tell her. “It doesn’t excuse it, but he and his people had no choice when they came through the Rift. Something about this place destroys their minds and makes them crazy. I’ve seen how hard he fights to beat it. The only thing that helps him is talking to me. If I’m not there, he’s just as insane as the rest of them. It’s not something they can help. I don’t even know if they’re aware of what they’re doing most of the time. I think their minds are just…gone.”
“But how can you be sure? How do you know that he’s not just telling you what he thinks you want to hear?”
Because I can see into his mind? But I don’t share that with Emma. It feels like a betrayal of Dakh. “I guess I have to believe in someone, so I choose to believe in him.”
“You’re a braver woman than me.”
“I don’t think there’s a bit of bravery involved. We’re all just trying to survive the best way we know how.”
“I don’t know what I’d do in your situation,” Emma admits. “I don’t know if I could ever get past the fact that they’re the enemy.”
Sometimes you have to go with your gut, though. I don’t know if Emma will ever understand my situation unless she meets up with a dragon herself. “I don’t know if you’ll ever be in my situation,” I tease her. “Dakh tells me you smell really, really bad.”
Her face lights up with a grin. “That’s the idea.”
We sit down at the table of food, and Emma’s eyes light up at the sight of a package of cookies. “Where did you find this? I thought they were all gone!” She holds it to her chest and closes her eyes, delighted. “This alone is worth the trek.”
I chuckle at her reaction. “I found a couple of them stashed behind some of the soft drinks. You’re welcome to that package.”
“You’re the best.” She slings her backpack off of her back and tucks the cookies in there. “Should we wait for the dragon to start eating?” She glances at the food spread out on the table.
“Not at all! He doesn’t eat this stuff. He grabs himself a nice fresh cow or deer every morning.” I pick up a sleeve of crackers
—my personal favorite—and open a jar of peanut butter. “Help yourself.”
She immediately tears into the bag of chips, grabbing a handful and cramming them into her mouth. I don’t judge; food probably has been harder to come by for her lately thanks to the fact that she’s had to leave the store. I feel a surge of guilt over that. “How are you faring? Where are you staying?”
Emma shrugs as she chews. “Found an old gas station up the road. No gas, no food, but it’s got a roof and no one else is squatting there, so it’s mine.”
I slather peanut butter on a cracker to cover the stale taste and chew on it thoughtfully. “You’re welcome to come here any time you like and get some supplies. There’s more than I can eat by myself, you know. And ditto on the clothes and soaps and anything else you can think of.”
The smile she gives me is grateful. “Really? People would kill to have all this crap back in Fort Tulsa.”
“I know, but we outcasts have to stick together. Besides, what am I going to do with an entire aisle of frying pans?”
“Cook up whatever Dakh brings you?”
I laugh, about to make a crack about how Dakh pre-cooks his food with his breath, when a shadow passes overhead. We both stiffen and look up, and I can see the panic cross Emma’s face.
Is that you? I send out automatically.
Yes, Dakh replies. I did not want to interrupt your conversation. I bring back meat for you. He sends me a mental image of a cow with really long horns. It is dead, but I did not breathe fire on it. Shall I drop it to the ground?
Wonderful—yes! Thank you, Dakh! I turn to Emma. “It’s Dakh. He’s back.”
“How can you tell?” There’s a nervous note in her voice.
“Oh, I recognize the scales,” I tell her blithely. “Come on. Let’s see what he’s got for us to cook up.”
28
SASHA
Dakh drops a gigantic full-grown steer in the parking lot, and Emma and I spend the next few hours trying to figure out how to butcher it properly. It’s a disgusting, messy task that requires gloves, aprons, knives, and a great deal of squealing with horror. Dakh helps out by doing some of the more onerous lifting and stays in his dragon form - I suspect because he doesn’t want to wear pants. By the time we get our hunks of meat skinned and spitted over the charcoal firepit, I’m exhausted and filthy.
I’ve also had so much fun.
Emma’s hilarious. She’s got a great sense of humor and isn’t afraid to jump into a difficult task. As we work, she tells me all about Fort Tulsa, her adopted godfather who taught her how to take care of herself in the After, her terrible wastrel of a brother who set off and left her alone, and a dozen other little stories that are funny and charming and sad all at once. It’s clear that Emma’s missed out on female company almost as much as I have, and the time passes swiftly.
When the meat’s prepped and roasting over the coals, we wash up and then pick through the perfumes. There are a few that smell very strong, and we test those out with Dakh. So we don’t let Emma on that our minds are connected, I make a big show of explaining things to Dakh and ask him to demonstrate which perfumes are the least appealing to a draconic snout. We manage to find a few scents that actually are worse for him than the deer urine, and the relief on Emma’s face is palpable.
“He’s sure?” she asks over and over again. “He really can’t smell me underneath all this?”
I am sure. My nose may never recover. And he rubs at his scaly snout with one clawed foot, as if disgusted.
“He’s sure,” I agree, reaching up to pet Dakh’s nose. “I’m probably going to hear about it for days.”
Emma just gives me a strange look. “He must be more of a talker when I’m not around.”
“That’s exactly it,” I lie. “Did you want to go bathe since you’re here? There’s a bunch of soaps by the pool in the break room, and I refilled it yesterday with fresh water.”
“Oh heck yes! You sure you don’t mind?” She looks more excited over the bath than the meat roasting in barbecue sauce a short distance away.
“Positive. We’ll be out here watching the food.”
With a little squeal of happiness, Emma races into the store. I chuckle at the sight of her bounding inside.
You do not worry she will take your things? Dakh asks, nuzzling at my neck. I know you value them greatly.
“They’re not really mine. And there’s more stuff in there than I can possibly know what to do with. She’s welcome to as much as she wants. I’d feel terrible to have stolen her home and then not even give her the smallest of items to help her survive.” I stroke his scales idly. “It’s hard to be a girl alone.”
Shall I reach out to some of my brother drakoni and find her a mate to protect her?
I gasp and put a hand over his enormous muzzle. “Bite your tongue. She doesn’t need a man to protect her! She just needs people to not be assholes.”
It will be easier to find her a mate, my dragon tells me wryly.
Well, he’s got a point there. “No. Absolutely not. I can’t imagine doing that to someone.” I shudder at the thought. “If she’s anything like me, she’s had enough choices taken from her over the course of time that doing such a thing is terrible to even think about.”
Dakh is silent.
By the time Emma emerges, smelling fresh and reeking only oh so slightly of a strong floral perfume, the meat is ready, and I’ve talked Dakh into changing into his human form and wearing pants once more. Emma’s dressed in new clothes and tosses the tags into the fire. “I really appreciate how generous you guys are,” she tells me, shooting a curious look at the shirtless Dakh. “I didn’t expect this, I have to admit. I thought I was going to walk into a trap, but I needed the spray.”
“Well, now you don’t need the spray,” I say brightly, my heart aching for her. “And you can get just as much perfume as you want, because I have no need for it.”
The smile she gives me is broad and genuine, and I feel like maybe we can truly be friends.
“Let’s eat, shall we? I’m starving,” I announce, and hand out paper plates.
Carving the food ends up being a little trickier than anticipated. Neither Emma or I have ever butchered a cow before, so none of the meat looks much like it did from grocery stores back in the day. But it’s fragrant and smells of the thick barbecue sauce we’ve slathered onto it, and my mouth waters. I fork a huge chunk of meat onto my plate and sit down to eat.
The taste is indescribable. I make a groan of pure joy with the first bite, and Emma follows a moment later.
“Oh my God, this is so good,” I say between chewing. It’s been forever since I’ve had beef of any kind, and while Dakh has offered to hunt for me before, I never took him up on it when there was packaged food to be had. But this? This is a game changer.
“Amazing,” Emma agrees.
You are enjoying yourself?
Absolutely, I tell him as I lick my fingers.
I can tell. His thoughts are a low purr. You make the same noises as I do when I am between your legs, tasting your cunt.
Just like that, arousal floods through me. We haven’t had sex again since that last time, and I know I’ve been keeping him at arm’s length while I got used to the idea of being his “mate.” It was easy to focus on the barbecue because that was safe, and Dakh’s been patient, not pushing me. I know he wants me to be eager for him, and so I’m going to have to be the one to initiate sex this next time.
And with his simple thought, I’m thinking about it. Hard. I press my thighs together tightly to stop the scent of my arousal from reaching Dakh.
Too late.
You did that on purpose, I think to him.
I did. I like the scent of you. I like licking your cunt. I like seating my cock deep inside you, where it belongs. This is how it should be between mates. You should be as hungry for me as I am for you.
Well, mission accomplished. Because now I can’t lick the barbecue sauce off of my fingers without
blushing and wanting to squirm in my seat. I force myself to chew quietly, ignoring the fact that my nipples are beaded tight and hard against the fabric of my sundress. I wish I could ignore the heated looks Dakh gives me as he picks up a hunk of meat and licks a smear of sauce off of it. But I can’t. My pulse flutters at how gold his eyes are.
“You think it’ll keep?” Emma asks, nibbling on a rib.
“Huh?” I blink and look over at her. It’s hard to concentrate, especially with Dakh all bronzed and shirtless across from me. Part of me wants to fling my plate aside and go crawl into his lap and rub myself all over his chest.
Do it, Dakh tells me, his thoughts full of amusement and lust.
Absolutely not, I tell him primly. I’m barely listening as Emma talks about how we can store all this cooked meat and how long it’ll last without a refrigerator of some kind. Then she looks over at me, waiting for an answer. “Whatever you think is best,” I say faintly, then nudge Dakh’s leg with my sandal under the table. Stop distracting me.
Dakh grabs my sandal, trapping my foot, and begins to rub my ankle. So soft.
Stop it! Eat your food.
It is not half as juicy as you are. I would rather bury my tongue somewhere else.
I shift in my seat. I can feel my pulse pounding between my thighs, can feel the heat growing there. I can already tell I’m wet between my thighs, my pussy slippery with arousal.
I can smell you even over her stink, Dakh agrees. You lust for me strongly.
“You okay?” Emma asks me, glancing at Dakh and then back at me. “Your face is all red.”
“Just got a spicy bit,” I lie, choking out the words. I grab my plastic cup of lemonade and chug it, all the while Dakh’s fingers trace patterns on the inside of my ankle.
“So what do you want to do?” Emma asks. She glances up at the sky. “Sun’s probably going down soon, so I should head off before it gets dark.”
“Will you be safe?” I ask, forgetting about Dakh for a moment.
“Oh, absolutely.” She pats her pocket. “I have pepper spray and my bat, and at some point I’m going to find another gun. There are still bullets in the store, but no guns, sadly.”